California Ghosting | |||||||||||
William Hill | |||||||||||
Otter Creek Press, 514 pages | |||||||||||
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A review by Lisa DuMond
Ghostal Shores is that best of all entertainment packages: a haunted luxury hotel. Overlooking the wild
Pacific, the resort is staffed with only the best — living and dead — to cater to every whim of some rather
whimsical guests. The setting, the service, and the ghosts, have proven the perfect combination, drawing
visitors from around the world. It's an almost idyllic spot where life and afterlife can live in harmony. Almost.
Someone has murdered one of the founders. His lovely, feisty attorney Angela and his skittish heir Blasing
hurry to the hotel, intending to find out who killed Mac and why. Of course, it isn't going to be that
easy. Suspects are going to be waiting in the shadows around every corner. Unknown, uninvited ghosts are
literally coming out of the woodwork, ready to cause trouble. And, of course, romantic sparks are going
to fly. But every reader knows that, heading into a ghost story.
Hill's Ghostal Shores is the hotel every theme park (except
possibly Heritage U.S.A) in the world would kill to own. If it really existed, the waiting list would stretch
for years, including my name wedged in there somewhere. But, the remaining founder has big changes in
mind. Changes that don't sit well with the 30 ghosts who inhabit the resort and are working members of the staff.
Is it these changes that necessitated Mac's death? Or did the murder have something to do with the
not-so-friendly ghosts who appear to be pouring into the hotel? Angela and Blasing are determined to
find the killer and put a stop to the changes before anyone else gets hurt. In order to do that, they are
going to have to figure out how to survive long enough to uncover the truth.
Hill's novel reads like a movie — a criticism often levelled at Stephen King. But, is there anything
wrong with that? Most of King's work has been turned into films; it isn't a stretch of the imagination
to picture the coming attractions for California Ghosting. Hill doesn't strike at the heart of
hypocrisy, racism, or perversion. No, there were no lingering questions that played through my mind after
I finished the last page. We can even anticipate a few of the incidents. What true horror fan can't?
California Ghosting doesn't provide the answers this world is seeking. Is it supposed to? I didn't
close the cover with a new resolve to stamp out world hunger, but I did have an overwhelming urge to
see if The Ghost And Mrs. Muir was in at the local video shop. That'll do.
Lisa DuMond writes science fiction and humour. She co-authored the 45th anniversary issue cover of MAD Magazine. Previews of her latest, as yet unpublished, novel are available at Hades Online. |
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